


time moves slow (when half your heart has yet to come home)

by pinkmilkshorty



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, I'm Bad At Summaries, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Third Person Plural, Red String of Fate, References to Depression, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, Spin the Bottle, i wrote this for my boyfriend take it ig, idfk, kinda i guess, parties but no drinking, so much pining, this is the longest thing ive ever written wtf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:42:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26947645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkmilkshorty/pseuds/pinkmilkshorty
Summary: “Give that back.” He practically snarled at Souda, yanking the scarf from his loose grip and draping it back over him as he walked away, the group sat in shock for a minute, not only because the slip in Gundham’s usually outlandish demeanor but also the placement of his soul string, which they previously didn't even think he had.“Was his…?”“Yeah.”“Wow.”“Yeah.”-------------------Gundhams soul string is not in a spot most would consider, normal. the inevitable reveal of its location, and existance, causes relationships to develop, deepen, and blossom.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nanami Chiaki/Sonia Nevermind, Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 18
Kudos: 254
Collections: best of the best: danganronpa edition





	time moves slow (when half your heart has yet to come home)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moldytoast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moldytoast/gifts).



Kazuichi Souda is not a patient person. He hates waiting, whether it's for the school day to end so he can go home and tinker in his garage, or even for a line to shorten and eventually end, the point is, he hates waiting. So it's no surprise that as soon as he could comprehend what the red string attached to his pinkie meant, he was tugging on it, trying to pull his soulmate to him. He remembers when he was young, probably around ten, one particularly hard tug earned him one back, pulling him right to the floor. He had stopped pulling as hard after that, afraid of retribution from his soulmate, but had continued to give it small tugs, getting over excited the rare times his soulmate would return it with a slight tug. He had tried learning morse code to communicate with whoever was on the other end, but quickly gave up, after a particularly hard tug when he had tried introducing himself but only got to the z in his name before he was pulled flat on his face. 

This habit of his not only led to a few embarrassing stumbles, from when he'd accidentally tug too hard, but most people were distant from him, finding his impatience rude and his random falls odd. He’d like to say he didn’t mind, and at first he didn't, but then people started mocking him, making fun of him, bullying him. A thought occurred once, that maybe if he looked a little stranger, people would leave him alone, he dyed his hair, sharpened his teeth, started wearing pink colored contacts, cut his own hair, which in retrospect didn’t quite go how he planned, but it seemed to work, his eccentric appearance was able to distract from his odd habits, and he even managed to make a few tentative friends. Or at least some people to hang around while at school. At home he’d lock himself away in his garage, mostly to avoid his father, and would tinker with whatever he could find, taking it apart and making something new, or just reverse engineering something. He spent more time with his, creations, than people. People were complicated. Machines, machines he understood. There was a rhyme and reason why they did the things they did. Sometimes he just didn’t understand people, he didn’t get why the people he talked to would get so worried when he’d go home okay, and then come in the next day with a black eye and cuts and bruises decorating his face. He didn’t get why people dated people who weren’t their soulmate, it never worked, his parents were a testimony to that, but really, he didn’t get a lot of things. Thankfully, he didn’t need to, he had his machines and honestly, he didn’t really need much else. This proved especially true when he was accepted into Hope's Peak, taking up the role of the super high-school level mechanic.

Each day up until the first was anxiety ridden and spent in his garage, trying to keep his mind off what his classmates would think of him. Will they think he's weird like others have? He can't be the weirdest thing this school has seen, right? Well, he’d find out soon enough. The first day came much too quickly, and as he stood on the front steps to the rest of his life, he gave a small tug to his string, heart beating a mile a minute, only relaxed slightly when he felt a small tug in return. Here goes nothing.

* * *

From the day he was born, Gundham knew he was different. Everyone did. It was hard not to realize. While nearly everyone had their red string attached to their pinkie, with a few odd ones out who might have had it attached to their arm, or leg, Gundham had, well, a bit of a different situation. His string was tied firmly around his neck, hanging in a way that didn't hurt him, but didn’t leave much wiggle room. His mother was worried, partly that people would alienate him, but also partly that it could be dangerous. Her fears were somewhat confirmed when they noticed that one day, he started falling. A lot. They were grocery shopping, and as they entered the store, he suddenly fell flat on his face. When he had calmed down enough for his mom to ask what had happened, he said that he wasn’t sure, he just felt like someone pulled him down by the neck. His mother then explained what the string around his neck meant, and why he felt a pull. She still remembered the way his eyes shone when she explained that someone out there was destined for him. He didn’t cry the next time he fell, he just excitedly got up to talk to his mom. Eventually, he started to get embarrassed, and he remembers one time when he was about ten giving a presentation and he was pulled down with so much force, he ended up with a bloody nose. He had grabbed the string and pulled hard, upset that his soulmate had embarrassed him. There hadn’t been a tug in a few days after the incident, and Gundham felt bad for a bit, until he felt the telltale tug, and he almost felt relieved, glad he hadn’t pushed away his soulmate. He was especially grateful for that bit, considering most no one else in his school would speak to him. They’d whisper about him though, the rumours that came with his soul string being in an odd spot compared to the general populous. He learned to tune it out, but not on his own. His mother was a great help, she showed him nice ways to wear the long purple scarf he got to try and hide his string, this only kind of worked considering now everyone thought he was stringless, but even that was more common than what he dealt with. 

No matter what he did, he was isolated, the only real companionship he had during his life other than his mom, and the old sci-fi movies they’d watch, was animals. He’d feed the strays on his street and even some wild animals and volunteered at a local shelter, his mom supporting him all the way. She even helped him with the animals they owned from time to time, and there sure were a lot of them. However the best friends he had were his four dark devas. They couldn't keep them at the shelter because they would fight constantly and Gundham was the only one who could calm them. The shelter let him take them, not even a year old, and he instantly became attached. It wasn't long after adopting him that he received news from Hope’s peak that he'd been accepted. His mother was ecstatic, hopeful that he might make some friends. He wasn’t as confident, considering as he would put it, most mere mortals couldn't stand to be in his otherworldly presence for far too long. In actuality, he avoided talking to people to in turn avoid them talking about him. Maybe this would be different though, maybe they wouldn't think he was odd, he won't know until he tries. And as he walks up the steps and into Hope’s peak for the first time, he thinks about what awaits him.

* * *

Souda hadn’t actually talked to most of his class, even after a whole year there. Their homeroom teacher didn’t really care where they were as long as they were improving on their talents, so it wasn’t until they came and found him with the new homeroom teacher, working on whatever it was that he needed to get done. 

“Come on Souda! Ms Yukizome said we’re having homeroom together as a class from now on!” His classmate Sonia called from the base of the, thing, he was working on. In a distant universe he imagined he'd probably be entranced by Sonia, wanting nothing more than to get close to her, but here, and now? He wasn’t interested. He knew they weren’t soulmates, her string clearly matched with Chiaki’s, something they discovered on the first day, after Sonia had tripped and fallen right into her, it was a pretty big deal at the time, the glow from their strings being close enough to fully connect was hard to ignore, and they have been basically inseparable since. So no, he wasn’t interested. He wasn’t much interested in anyone in his class. Some of them had found out they were soulmates, Sonia and Chiaki, Fuyuhiko and Peko, and some had found their soulmates in other classes like Nagito and that kid from the reserve course, Hajime. So yeah, pretty much everyone in his class had found their other half. Those who hadn’t weren't that concerned and there weren’t many. Oh of course there was Gundham, but he didn’t really count, he didn’t even _have_ a soul string. He’d feel bad for the dude, except he doesn’t seem to care, he never talks about it, even when everyone around him did.

But the point was that he wasn’t interested in Sonia, they were just friends, and Souda was more than okay with it.

“They want us to do what?” He yelled back, popping into view from where he was working.

“Have homeroom together!”

“Why?”

“I don't know! Come down and ask her yourself!” Souda sighed at that and wiped his hands on a rag he had with him, climbing down from his machine and adjusting his hat. 

“Alright alright whatever let's get going.” Souda responded, falling in with the group, grumbling about his peaceful work day being interrupted. He gave a tug to his string, a force of habit at this point, and was caught off guard when there was a slightly strong pull back, causing him to stumble a little.

“Woah there Souda, are you good?” Nagito called from his left, steadying him.

“Yeah yeah, my soulmates just got an attitude today I guess.”

* * *

The last stop they made was the top of the school, where Gundham had been training his animals for some reason. He was easy enough to get to join them, giving them the usual tirade about how they were all mere mortals compared to “Gundham the Forbidden One” or something like that. Souda wasn’t really sure, he’s heard Gundham call himself the overlord of ice, whatever that means, stronger than a god, and so much other shit. He's pretty sure there's not much of anything Gundham could say that would shock the group, and he's not sure if that makes the guy happy or sad. 

Eventually they made it back to their homeroom, thankfully all in one piece, only to find that Ms Yukizome had plans for them. Plans that involved cleaning. They had to clean. While there were worse things to do, he's pretty sure everyone would rather be working on their talents right now. Instead, they’re sweeping the floors and washing the windows. Ms Yukizome had left about ten minutes ago and they were very much done, so with nothing else to do, they sat and talked.

“What do you guys think life would be like without the red string?” Sonia asked, she was sitting on the floor, Chiaki resting her head on her girlfriend's thighs as Sonia let her fingers run through Chiaki’s hair, the latter with her eyes shut. They had gotten on the subject of soulmates a few minutes ago, and by now, about half the class either was doing their own thing, or went to see if they could find Ms Yukizome. It left an interesting mix; Souda, Peko, Sonia, Gundham, Fuyuhiko, Chiaki, and Nagito, the only two who hadn’t found their soulmate we’re Souda and Gundham, with Gundham’s case obviously being slightly different as far as Souda was aware. Speaking of Gundham, the group quieted down at Sonia's question, glances shifting back and forth from her to him.

“Oh, oh my god Gundham I didn’t mean it like that.” Sonia rushed to apologize but Gundham didn’t appear phased.

“Do not fret dark princess, for you have done nothing offensive. It may appear that I do not have the oh-so mythical soul string you all speak of, but the truth is that mine is not visible in a corporeal form like yours!” He appeared pretty smug at that, and one of the devas crawled out of his scarf to sit on his shoulder, before he jumped down into Gundham’s open palm. It was a sweet sight, watching him pet the small animal before giving it a sunflower seed and setting it atop his shoulder to eat. 

“Shit dude, it's okay if you don’t have a string, it's no-” Fuyuhiko was cut off before he could finish.

“You misunderstand! Although I wouldn’t expect a mere mortal such as yourself to understand the grandeur inner workings of an overlord of ice! My string merely resides in a place not visible to others!” Gundham said this with pride, and puffed out his chest afterward and Souda knew he shouldn’t say it, but well, he couldn’t quite help himself.

“What, like your dick?” There was a pause as everyone took his words in before they started laughing, the only one not seeming to find the joke funny, was Gundham himself. He stood up, the laughter dying, cheeks reddening and started to walk away, well and done with the conversation. Before he could get far though Souda sprang up after him, slightly guilty he caused this. “Wait! Hamster-chan, listen man-” He stopped short. In his haste to get Gundham to wait, he had grabbed at his scarf, which must’ve been coming undone, because he pulled it off in one fell swoop. Gundham whipped around to try and grab it back, almost desperate to cover his neck, but the damage was done, everyone had seen his neck, and more importantly, the string tied around it. 

“Give that _back_.” He practically snarled at Souda, yanking the scarf from his loose grip and draping it back over him as he walked away, the group sat in shock for a minute, not only because the slip in Gundham’s usually outlandish demeanor but also the placement of his soul string, which they previously didn't even think he had.

“Was his…?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

Souda faintly heard the exchange behind him, but didn’t really pay attention, just thinking of the embarrassment clearly present on Gundham’s face. He felt, guilty for being the cause of his discomfort and before he knew it, he was following after him, he didn’t really know why, but he was. Faintly he could hear the group asking where he was going, but he just ignored them, determined in his quest to make sure his friend was okay.

They were friends, right? It wasn’t like they hung out outside of school, or honestly much in school, but Gundham had never been mean to him. Come to think of it, he's not sure if he’s seen anyone really hanging out with Gundham. Sonia talks to him the most in class, but that's mostly because he's one of the only ones who can hold a conversation about some of the obscure occult stuff she's interested in. Past that though? He’s never heard of anyone hanging out with the other after school, and he eats alone, hell the guy even requests that he do the rare group project they'd get assigned alone. Not that Souda was like, stalking the guy or something, he just, was really intrigued, plus the devas are so fucking cute. Also it didn’t hurt that the guy was, well how should he put this, hot. He hoped for a bit upon meeting him that maybe he was his soulmate, but that thought process was quickly squashed when he saw he didn’t have a string. Well, he did technically have one, Souda had just been under the impression he didn’t. Although, he guesses he understands the reason why Gundham hides it, he can’t imagine it's been easy, people get judged when their string is around their wrist. Something about how forgettable they were to have to need such an obvious and constant reminder of their string, Souda didn't really care enough to understand people's reasoning, but he knew there wasn’t much point in arguing with those types of people, he’d ignore people who tried talking to him about it which typically got them off his case, but sometimes he’d argue if they wouldn’t shut up. 

But back to the point, he was looking for Gundham. He checked the usual places people would find him, all to no avail. Just when he was about to give up, he heard something, the sound of someone talking to themselves, coming from the greenhouse. He made his way over and pushed open the door, weaving his way through the plants before finding Gundham. The other boy was sitting in a porch swing with his back facing Souda, his devas in hand, which explained the talking to himself thing. Well, now or never, Souda thought to himself, stepping forward and clearing his throat to get Gundhams attention.

* * *

Sometimes, Gundham regretted attending Hope’s Peak. When his mother spoke of missing him, nearly every day when eating alone, the looks he would receive sometimes when he spoke, but none of those moments compare to right now. He wished he hadn’t joined in their frivolous conversation, maybe then he wouldn’t have lost his scarf and they wouldn’t have seen. However, there isn’t much he can do about it now, all he can do is hope this doesn’t change the way his classmates see him. Many times this has driven a wedge between him and others and as asinine as their reasons may be, he can’t help but feel like he’s doing something wrong whenever it happens. He knows this to be false in actuality, and therefore finds it hard to care when people leave, assuming they could sense the immense power he holds, and understood it to be far too much for them to handle. It's the way he’s rationalized everyone who inevitably leaves, he's just, far too powerful. From his poisonous skin, to his mastery of the dark arts, and his command over animals, he was simply too much for others to be able to handle, he really couldn’t blame them for it. It still didn't make it any easier. He’s learned to live with it, and learned to avoid close relationships, he didn’t need them anyways, he was the Overlord of Ice, he had no need for mortal relations. However he couldn't help but long for something more when he’d feel his soulmate give their string a gentle tug, he’d feel something akin to hope stir in him, a faint belief that maybe, just maybe his destined one would love him regardless. 

Hope however, was a fickle thing. 

Remembering their faces when they saw his, his string. He knew that the jig was up, there was no way they would still speak to him. He had made his way to the greenhouse to gather his thoughts after grabbing his scarf back from Souda. Oh gods Souda. Gundham wasn’t typically one to fall prey to simple human emotions such as “crushes” but he couldn’t deny it, he was truly smitten. Oh yes he was loyal to whoever his destined one would turn out to be, but until then who was he to deny himself the simple pleasure of enjoying the sight of someone attractive. Souda may not be what some people consider conventionally attractive, but to Gundham, he was heavenly. He may seem brash or obnoxious to others, but quite frankly, Gundham could listen to him talk for hours and still want to hear more. So yeah, he had what could be considered a crush, but he wasn’t going to let it affect him and his soulmate. Although there were times when he wished it was Souda, it would make his life easier, however he strongly doubts that they are. Souda appeared to have little to no interest in him and while most mortals are like that, it hurts a little more when it comes to him. 

When he finally rests on a swinging bench in the greenhouse, he no longer wishes to be on the school grounds, yet seeing as he basically lives there, all he can do is try and take his mind off his problems. His dark minions seem to have other ideas however as they all start to climb down his arms, a clear sign they want to sit in his hands, and speak with him. He brings them up to eye level and passes them a curious glance, wondering what they would like. For a moment he thinks they might be hungry, but that idea is rapidly disposed of when they ignore the sunflower seeds he procures for them. 

“Oh my minions of darkness, whatever do you require?” They gave him a look that told him all he needed to know.

“My devilish deva’s, please don't tell me you intend to have me speak of the incident!” He knew that was exactly what they wanted, just as he was about to go over the incident, in great detail, there was a cough from behind him. The devas scrambled up his arms to rest on either his shoulders or his head, as he rose quickly and turned, prepared to leave, before he realized who stood before him. Souda of all people, what he was doing here, Gundham didn’t have a clue. 

“Uh hey dude, are you, uh, like okay?” Souda seemed to be deeply uncomfortable but Gundham couldn't tell if it was because of the topic or because who he was talking to. He decided on the former.

“Ha! You worry over the great overlord of ice, Gundham Tanaka? Foolish!” This was all said with a flourish and Gundham thinks on any normal day it would’ve worked. Souda would’ve rolled his eyes, laughed a little and apologized, and then left. This wasn’t a normal day apparently, because Souda’s face switched from slight discomfort to worry. It was a weird feeling to know someone was worried for you, Gundham wasn’t sure if it was good weird or bad weird.

“Seriously Tanaka,” distantly, Gundham thinks about how that's the first time Souda has called him something other than hamster-chan, “its okay if you aren’t okay dude. That was really awkward, and I know what some people think of people with, uh, odd soul strings. By the way, I don’t care, I think it's kinda cool to be honest.” Gundham scoffed and rolled his eyes at that, turning away. The silence hung thick in the air, neither of them looking at each other, both wanting to say something, but neither sure quite what. 

“Hey are you busy today after school?” Souda asked, Gundham looked up at him, he had a soft blush dusting his cheeks and he was worrying his bottom lip, which in all honesty, seemed like it would be painful.

“For what reason is a mere mortal like you concerned over the goings on of the great Gundham Tanaka?” He automatically deflected, prepared for Souda to simply give up and leave.

“Cause if his greatness isn’t busy, I would like to hang out. Or is it appointment based only?” Souda smirked, noticeably less nervous, clearly teasing Gundham. It was his turn to blush, as he hid his face in his scarf, thinking it over. 

“Alright! What does the tamer of automations have in store!” Gundham challenged cocking his head. Souda smirked in response and looked as though he was contemplating it for a second before replying.

“I might have an idea.”

* * *

Souda really hoped this was a good idea. He hadn’t really had any ideas and then he remembered an ad he had seen for a cat cafe that was opening nearby that he knew Gundham would love. He hoped. God he felt stupid. They walked in mostly silence, one of Gundhams hamsters had made his way over to Soudas shoulder, sleeping soundly. The most talking they've done is Souda asking which deva he had, with Gundham giving a reply of Mirage Silver Falcon Jum-P. Neither seemed to mind the silence, both comfortable just walking, it almost felt natural, weirdly enough considering they weren’t exactly close, but the walk wasn’t that long so maybe that had something to do with it. Eventually they reached the cafe and Souda slowed to a stop, stomach suddenly churning with anxiety. He tried to gauge Gundhams reaction but his face appeared to stay the same neutral one he kept most of the time.

“Nekorobi?” He asks, looking at Souda out of the corner of his eye, an eyebrow raised and really it does nothing to calm his stomach or the beating in his heart that had started.

“Yeah they just opened last week, it seemed like something ya might like.” Souda said, nerves piling up and he felt Jum-P yawn and shift on his shoulder. Eager to distract himself he gently picked Jum-P up and went to set him on Gundhams shoulder, before he suddenly shifted away to lift his hand up to retrieve the sleeping hamster before depositing him into his scarf. “Uh shall we?” Souda gestured to the building and Gundham nodded, Souda holding the door open for him and following after. They sit at a small round table in the corner near the front, a few cats quickly swarming Gundham and some even coming over to Souda. 

“So what do you think you’re gonna get?” Souda asked, glancing up at Gundham, who was cradling a fluffy white cat like a baby. The sight was honestly quite sweet what with the almost obnoxious purring coming from the clearly very at peace cat, and the almost smile gracing Gundhams features, Souda felt his face heat up and he looked away lightly, but he wasn't quite sure why.

“I am unsure, perhaps one of those Iced Coffee drinks they boast as the best in the town!” He said with his usual gusto, but was obviously far too focused on the cats swarming his feet and the one he had picked up. Eventually they both decided and had to leave the cats to order, before getting their drinks and sitting back down, only to be swarmed by the cats again. Soon after their drinks arrived, both still sitting in silence, eventually Souda couldn’t take it anymore.

“So, hamster-chan, how is your drink?” Souda received a look at the nickname, but Gundham mostly ignored it, taking a sip of his drink and thinking, carefully choosing his words for such a simple response to a simple question. 

“It’s, good.” Souda raised an eyebrow, giving him a look as he took a sip of his tea.

“All that thinking just for its good?”

“My apologies, is there a different reaction you would have preferred?” He smirked at Souda and cocked his head slightly. For some reason it made Souda blush, an odd feeling pooling in his gut, and he fidgeted slightly with his plastic cup. 

“Well no, but typically there’d be more, uh, I don't know, long words?” Souda finished, feeling, well, lame.

“Sometimes, fewer short words can convey far more than any grandiose dialect. The great Gundham Tanaka can acclimate to any situation!” Gundham said, crossing his arms and lifting his chin high. Souda chuckled to himself, this was the Gundham he was more familiar with. They sat in a much more comfortable silence this time, gently petting the cats, and quietly telling each other stories long after their drinks had run empty. The cats continued to flock Gundham and it was already a moderately hot day, and Souda could tell the heat was getting to Gundham. Beads of sweat were starting to form on his face, and his cheeks had started to tinge pink. 

“Hey uh, you can take off your scarf by the way. Cause it's, uh, hot or whatever.” Souda cringed internally at the or whatever and he could see Gundham tense across from him. Shit, he had crossed a line hadn’t he. “But uh, don't uh, don't feel like you have to or anything. I'm sorry i brought-”

“Silence, there is no need for apologies, I have not taken your words negatively.” As he said this, he slowly leaned up and unraveled his scarf from his neck, the bright red string left behind in stark contrast with the almost ghost-like skin of his neck. He even took it a step further and removed his jacket, letting it drape across the back of his chair, half bandaged arm fully exposed, displaying over a dozen scars ranging from tiny to large, hopefully from the many animals he claims to have, but Soudas eyes just went right back to his neck. The contrast really was beautiful. Gundham had turned his attention back to whichever cat was currently in his arms, leaving him totally unaware of the stare being levied his way. Souda wondered what it’d be like to touch where the silky string is wrapped around the other boy's neck, and the only reason he doesn’t reach out is fear of retribution. He doesn’t get caught looking until a train of thought somehow leaves his brain station and moves to his mouth before quietly ejecting in the form of a whispered word. 

“Pretty.”

Gundhams head snaps up, face now a bright pink, and he coughs slightly, as if he’d been startled, when he sees Souda is staring at him. Souda stumbles out an apology and they both avoid looking at the other, the silence back to its awkward nature but this time increased by tenfold. This wasn’t quite how he imagined this going.

* * *

Gundham wasn’t really sure how he felt about this outing. He enjoyed the cafe and honestly the company wasn’t all that bad, but the removal of his jacket and scarf made him self conscious. He felt like he was being stared at and while he wouldn’t judge anyone for looking at the great Gundham Tanaka, he could recognize these people weren't staring in awe at his great power. His emotions only became more jumbled when he heard Souda mutter, pretty. He had looked up and seen the other staring at him, at his neck. He felt his face flush not only at the comment but also at the look on Souda’s face, something he couldn’t quite place. 

He wasn’t sure about how it made him feel. 

Oh well, he wouldn't let himself stew in those thoughts, knowing it would just cause him to overthink something simple. He gently lifted the small cat in his arms, a fluffy white persian from the looks of it, perhaps a ragdoll somewhere in its ancestral lines if its unflattened muzzle was anything to go by, but that's besides the point. He stands and takes the step forward to be right in front of Souda, nudging his foot and gesturing with his head for the other to stand up. He slowly did, a look of confusion gracing his features as he stood across from Gundham.

“Here,” he holds the cat out to Souda and beams when he takes her, “Starting off, one needs to support a feline's hind legs when carrying them, as many felines lack the ability to support themselves when being held!” Souda adjusted his grip so his left hand was supporting the bottom of the cat, and the other was resting on her back. The cat had her paws resting on his shoulder, slightly attentive if she felt like she would be dropped. 

“What's the second off hamster-chan? or should i call you neko-chan now?” Souda smirked gently petting the cats back until he felt her rest her head on his shoulder, light snoring noises coming from her. Any response Gundham would've had was cut off when Souda’s eyes lit up, mouth dropping open in wonder. 

“What has you so perplexed, mortal?”

“I've never had a lot of experience with animals, this is the first time one's fallen asleep on me! Let alone in my arms.” Souda must’ve been very concerned with waking the cat up with his voice because he quieted slightly before the end of the sentence. Gundham felt something warm spread in his chest, unable to ignore it, and quite frankly he didn't very well see the point in trying. He let himself indulge in the feeling, a small smile gracing his lips as he looked at Souda and with the cat sleeping gently on his shoulder, he felt so much peace, he truly didn’t want this moment to end. 

Peace however, as he knew, was a fickle thing.

“Uhm, excuse me sir?” They looked over at the timid man that had approached them, from the looks of it some sort of worker, however they hadn’t seen him this whole time they were here. 

“Whats up?” Souda asked, stepping slightly in front of Gundham, causing him to raise his eyebrows slightly.

“Uhm we’ve been getting complaints from other customers, and I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.” Gundham looked to the side and turned to grab his stuff, understanding there was nothing he could do, when Souda spoke again.

“What? Why?” Gundham turned back to them to see Souda had shifted into a much more defensive stance, having gently set the cat down, with his hands on his hips. The man started to mumble out some lame excuse but before he could force out something coherent, Gundham gently put a hand on Souda’s shoulder to interrupt. 

“It is not an issue tamer of automations, we shall go elsewhere to continue. These mere mortals will see that they have made a mistake when I, the overlord of ice, wreak pandemonium!” With that Gundham swept his jacket and scarf up off the chair, and headed for the door. Souda indignantly followed, scrambling to grab the hat he had discarded at some point and his phone. 

“Dude we shouldn’t have had to leave, I’m sorry, is there anything else you want to do?” Souda said, pulling his beanie on and adjusting it.

“It’s quite alright mortal, you have committed no injustices therefore have no reason for remorse!” Gundham stated, pulling his jacket on in one swift motion, while throwing his scarf around his neck. He felt significantly more comfortable but also caught an odd look passing on Soudas face, it almost looked like, disappointment? But that didn’t make any sense, so he wrote it off as another one of his indecipherable looks, and continued walking. If he was being honest, he didn’t really have a plan past getting the fuck out of there, he just knew he didn’t want this, whatever this was, to be over already.  
He didn’t even realize, in his panic to say something, he had suggested the stupidest thing.

* * *

Gundham Tanaka's childhood home. Souda looked at it in awe, when he pictured where Gundham grew up, he didn’t exactly picture something so, _normal_. Yet, there it was. 

“Come, I shall give you the grand tour before we must retreat back to the dormitories!.” He stepped through the gate, motioning for Souda to follow after him, it took him a minute for his brain to catch up with his feet. The Tanaka household really was beautiful. The decor matched well and he barely knew what he was talking about. The house was pretty. That's all that was important. Gundham showed him to all the important rooms and Souda had never seen so many animals in one place that wasn’t either a zoo or pet store. They had lizards, rabbits, cats, dogs, birds, mice, he's pretty sure there was a horse in the back. If you could think of it, they probably had it. He knew all their names too and they all came to him naturally. It was really astonishing. Some of them would come up to him, but Souda mostly just sat with the deva that had migrated to him, he’s pretty sure this one was San-D. They were laying with their stomach facing up, Souda rubbing it gently with a finger. When Gundham noticed an odd look crossed his face, but he quickly covered it and moved on. Eventually they made their way to a room that had Gundham stopping short. He seemed to be calculating something in his head before seemingly deciding to do it before he threw the door in front of him open. The room was relatively normal. A bed, four hamster cages with dark curtains separating them, a closet, a nice large window, and a dark black fuzzy rug. There were some old movie posters on the wall, and some pictures of Gundham and a woman who must be his mom. Souda stepped inside after Gundham and looked around, it really was a cozy looking room. 

“Welcome mortal, few have laid eyes upon the abode of the great Gundham Tanaka and lived to tell the tale.”

“This is your bedroom dude? It's sick!” Souda replied in all sincerity, moving over to the desk in the corner to look at some of the plushies he had on the bookshelves above it, eventually though his eyes moved down to a framed photo on the desk. It was Gundham, the woman he assumed was his mom, and then it was ripped. He made a mental note to ask about that later. He turned to see Gundham fidgeting near his bed, looking incredibly nervous, and just as he was about to ask what’s wrong a voice rang through the house. 

“Gundham! Sweetie! Are you home!? I saw your boots by the front door!” Gundham looked over to the door at the sound of the voice, the worry seemingly melting off his body.

“Mother!” That was oddly all he said, but it seemed to do the trick as a woman appeared in the doorway. He confirmed that it was the same woman from the pictures, maybe just a little older, and she really did look a lot like Gundham. Dark black hair that she wore pinned up, and it looked like she had white streaks in it too, he had always assumed that Gundham dyed it but maybe he didn’t, unless he was big in the matching your parents fashion. She was far shorter than Gundham but had a kind face, and her soft grey eyes were the kind to make you feel at home even when she was a stranger. 

“Gundham, how are you sweetie?” She pulled him into a hug, before pulling back and, without waiting to hear Gundhams answer, turned to look at Souda. “And who is this? Now I know you don’t always have time to warn me when you're stopping home but you've never brought someone else back!”

“Mother please, this is a classmate of mine, tamer of automations, Souda Kazuichi!” He appeared to have a blush on his face as he said that, probably from his mom, but Souda just beamed brightly at her.

“Nice to meet you ma’am!” Souda waved from where he was standing, the other hand still cradling San-D who had started nuzzling into his palm.

“Oh aren't you just the cutest!” She smiles brightly at him and he's suddenly filled with the need to make her like him. “You are the ultimate mechanic right? I've heard a lot about you but I didn't know that I'd get to meet you!” That made both boys freeze and blush, Gundham pulling his scarf up over his face and Souda smiling from nervousness.

“You’ve, heard about me?” She nodded and looked like she was about to go into a whole rant before the sound of Gundham clearing his throat interrupted her.

“Mother it has been wonderful visiting your mortal abode but we must return post haste lest we arrive past the allowed hours!” With that he left with a flourish, leaving just Souda with his mom.

“Don’t mind him, he’s never had a lot of friends, any really, I don’t mean to scare you off.” She seemed a little nervous that she had upset him, and Souda knew what Gundham meant when he had said he was born of an angel. He didn’t quite get the demon part, but maybe when he met Gundhams father he would. 

“Oh, ha, don't worry ma’am.” That seemed to ease her stress.

“That’s good,” She turned like she was about to leave before noticing the animal in Souda’s hand, still laying on its back, with Soudas other hand subconsciously gently rubbing its stomach. “Huh, that's weird.” Souda followed her gaze to the pet and raised an eyebrow to himself. 

“Does he normally not let people hold the devas?” She smiled softly at the nickname, but shook her head.

“No it's not that. It's more that they don't let other people hold them. And hamsters rarely ever show their stomach for petting. They must really like you.” She said, smiling much brighter than before and walking out, leaving Souda slightly stunned in his spot. They, liked him? He felt his face heat up, unsure if it's because he knows the hamsters are like an extension of Gundham, or what, but it took his brain a solid minute to catch up and realize he needed to get going. He stumbled into the front entryway where Gundham was waiting, boots already pulled on and strapped up. Souda didn’t know how he got them on so quickly but he figured it was probably just muscle memory. 

“Good eve mother, I shall alert you when we arrive safely.” Gundham said, pulling her into a hug and stepping out the door.

“Goodbye sweetie!! Goodbye Souda, I hope we can talk more soon.” She smiled warmly at him as he shoved his feet in his sneakers and followed Gundham out. 

“Goodbye!” He turned back to yell, turning forward and seeing Gundham was much farther ahead. “Wait up hamster-chan!”

* * *

That went better than Gundham had expected, his mom seemed to like Souda, he just wished she hadn't brought up that he had talked about the other boy, but what's done is done. San-D was still with the mechanic, having migrated to the inside of his collar, which had startled Souda at first, but he seemed comfortable by now. By the time they got to the bus stop to get to the school, Gundhams childhood home was quite a while away, San-D had wanted food and retreated back to Gundham. They had talked comfortably while they walked, Souda sharing about his most recent project and Gundham telling him a bit about the animals he took care of on school premises, eventually though they made it to the bus stop.

“Oh,” Souda looked around, a look of surprise on his face, “This is near where I went to middle school. Who knew we grew up so close to each other.” He smiled at Gundham, and he felt his chest seize, a blush covering his face. He nodded and smiled slightly back, and they sat down on the bench. Suddenly Souda shivered, he looked over and noticed that he apparently had been shivering. 

“Ha, are you affected by the low temperature of the night?” To anyone else he probably would’ve sounded like he was mocking, but Souda somehow knew he wasn’t.

“Listen dude, not everyone was granted with great powers such as yours.” He smirked up at Gundham and he had to look away, face flushing even more. He thought for a moment before deciding something, pulling his scarf off and wrapping it around Soudas neck, before looking away, his face burning red and anxiety pooling in his gut. 

“Hamster-Chan?” Soudas voice was quiet and Gundham couldn’t help but look at him, warmth filling his chest at the look of wonder on Soudas face, and the way he looked wearing his scarf. Thankfully he didn’t need to speak, the look on his face, seemingly saying it all, because a smile stretched across Soudas face. “Thank you.” Gundham nodded and looked forward, forcing himself to not cross his arms and close himself off. It's a good thing he didn’t too, because he suddenly felt a hand slip into his own, gripping it tightly. He looked over at Souda, but he was hiding his face in the scarf, a blush spreading across his face, so he just looked forward, his own face heating up. He was really in deep, he wasn’t sure when, but sometime throughout the night the tone had shifted, everything seemed, more romantic, in a way. The feeling in his chest that he had always harbored for the other had just expanded, growing in a way he couldn’t quite explain, and it might be presumptuous of him, but Soudas hand felt like it was made for him to hold. 

For a moment, soulmates didn’t exist, and him and Souda, they were just two boys, sitting together in the soft glow of something new, something peaceful. Gundham wanted to live in this little pocket of time and space forever, content to just hold Soudas hand. 

“Souda? Kazuichi Souda? Is that you?” Their peace was broken by a voice sounding from their right, and Gundham felt Souda rip their hands apart like he’d been burned. He tried to ignore the feeling it gave him. 

“Ha ha, do I know you?” Souda asked, turning to the boy walking up to them, he was with someone else but they seemed to be not paying attention.

“Yeah! We went to middle school together, remember? Man how you been, I heard you got into Hope's Peak!” Souda nodded in response as the dude stood across from them, Gundham briefly wondered who the boy was and why Souda never mentioned having friends in middle school, that thought was quickly squashed by the boy's next words. 

“How the fuck did you do that! Who’d your old man pay to pretend you've got a talent?” Gundham was taken aback by that, and he saw Souda’s shoulders tense, and he realized he was frozen.

“Fiend!” Gundham yelled, stepping to the side of Souda and crossing his arms, “Kazuichi Souda is by far the greatest tamer of automations I, the great Gundham Tanaka, overlord of ice has come across! You shall burn in the fires of pandemonium for ever doubting him!” He saw Souda look over at him, eyes wide, but clearly better than before. The boy looked at Gundham and scoffed.

“Get your dog Souda,” He chuckled to himself then looked closer, “would ya look at that, he's even got a leash!” Gundhams hand flew up to his neck, suddenly self conscious, he looked over at Souda, who was looking down at the ground. Oh. Okay. He turned his attention back to the intruder

“Leave at once you fiends! Your presence is no longer wanted!” They seemed to realize they wouldn’t be getting any more of a reaction, so with a few more taunts towards Gundham, having basically forgotten their original target, they left. Silence hung heavy in the air as they both stayed still, waiting for the other to initiate the conversation. Just when Gundham was about to give up and walk away, Souda spoke.

“Tanaka, dude, I’m-” However, Gundham decided he didn’t want to hear it, and held up his hand to stop him. 

“Silence mortal. I do not require your feeble sorrows, for I see now the true meaning behind your acts today. Pity. Something which I require no more of. It truly is a shame, for no one has survived the touch of my poisonous skin, or meeting the angel from which I come.” He turned towards the road, seeing the bus in the distance.

“Seriously Tanaka, it's not that, I don't pity you, really I just-”

“Souda. Enough.” He looked back at Souda as the bus pulled up, tears gathering in his eyes, barely holding them back. “Please.” The last word came out broken, and after that he stepped onto the bus, moving to the back, while Souda stayed near the driver. They arrived at Hope's Peak in silence, and Gundham quickly left him standing at the school's stop, speed walking through the front gate and right into the school, he didn’t want to talk. By the time he made it back to his room the dam had broken. He leaned back against his door, slowly dropping to the floor and letting broken sobs escape his body. He crossed his arms over his chest and clutched the sleeves of his jacket with all his might, leaning in on himself, and letting everything from today out. He sat there for what felt like days but was probably only a few hours before his head and legs started to hurt. He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror, tears still slowly falling down his face but he knew there was nothing he could do about it so he just ignored it, instead inspecting the smeared eyeliner, taking out his contacts and getting into his bed, making sure to deposit the devas in their respective cages. He just stayed there, lying on his back as he sobbed quietly, not wanting to alert anyone else in the dorms, they had probably already heard him when he first walked in, but he wasn’t really thinking of that. Eventually the tears stopped flowing as steadily and he rolled over onto his side curling in on himself, he wanted nothing more than to just waste away in his bed, ultimately deciding against it for the animals sake. He passed out relatively quickly, still in his clothes from the day, heart still aching.

* * *

Souda couldn’t help the guilt welling in his stomach, almost skipping class, the only reason he showed was that he knew he had to apologize. Sitting in his seat though, waiting for Gundham to show up however was awful. He just kept reliving the moment in his head, seeing the look on Gundhams face right before he got on the bus. The pure despair on his face haunted his dreams last night. He truly wasn’t doing what he did out of pity, he just had to make Gundham see that. 

Souda knew that something had shifted between them last night, before everything went to shit that is, it could’ve been while they were talking at the cafe, on the way to Gundhams house, maybe even at Gundhams house, it was just solidified by the moment they had at the bus stop. Gundhams hand felt so good in his own, warm and firm, larger than his own. His rings had felt cold against his fingers and Souda wanted nothing more than to go back and make him talk. Make him stand up for the other boy, prove to him that he really did mean something. 

But he hadn’t done that, and he couldn’t go back. He was just, so terrified, he had remembered who the boys were, two kids that would beat the shit out of him when they were really young, he didn't care enough to learn their names. It wasn’t that he agreed with what they were saying, or that he didn't care about Gundham, because he did, more than he probably should, but he did nonetheless, and his soulmate could deal with it. Oh, oh no his soulmate. He hadn’t touched the string in almost a day oh god. He hastily gave it a sharp, but pretty weak tug, and was met with, a painfully sad nudge, if you could even call it that. Did something happen? Great this was just what he needed. He heard the classroom door open and his head whipped up, Sonia was standing there with Chiaki in tow head deep in a game, and honestly Sonia was probably the only reason Chiaki got to class. He deflated slightly and gave them a weak wave, Sonia throwing him a questioning glance but sitting down. 

The next few minutes Souda spent jumping at the slightest of sounds and nearly losing his mind everytime the door opened. By the time the entire class got there, and Gundham still hadn’t shown, Souda was clearly anxious, knee bobbing at a rapid speed, and fidgeting with whatever he could get his hands on, taking apart his pen and putting it back together probably ten times within the minutes when suddenly, finally the door opened. 

Souda wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t, this. There, in all his glory stood Gundham Tanaka except, he was obviously not okay. He had deep bags under his eyes, and wasn't wearing any makeup, not even his lightning tattoo, his hair was a mess like he hadn’t even bothered to brush it, and he was wearing a sweatshirt. A sweatshirt. The devas were all visible and sitting around his collar so at least one thing hadn’t changed. Souda tried, he really did, to not look at his neck but, he clearly only owned one scarf, which was currently sitting on Souda’s desk. In his dorm. But there, on full display, was Gundhams string. There were a few hushed whispers in the group as Gundham trudged to his seat, with none of his usual flair, and slumped down into his seat, all while clearly avoiding looking at Souda. This was going to be far more difficult than he first imagined. He steeled his nerves and got up, walking over, and standing in front of Gundhams seat.

“Hey uh hamster-chan,” He said with a chuckle, Gundham still avoiding eye contact, “so I uh, was wondering if we could talk about what happened.”

“No.” 

“No?”

“No.” Souda was slightly taken aback at that, he wasn’t gonna force Gundham to listen, but he felt awful. 

“Please, Tanaka, I’m really sorry, I don’t want you to think everything I did was out of pity, because it wasn’t. I just, I got scared. Please, Tanaka, I really care about you, let me make this up to you.” Gundham sighed in his seat, cheeks reddening, before standing, grabbing Soudas hand and dragging him out of the room. 

“Fine, I shall listen.”

“Thank you. Listen I’m, I’m sorry, what they said about you was, just plain awful, and I should’ve stood up for you but I didn’t and I’m sorry for that. I understand if you don't want to talk to me after this but I need you to know that I didn’t invite you out because I pity you. I just genuinely think you’re a cool dude and wanted to get to know you better. So, I’m sorry. Really.” Souda took a deep breath, that was harder than he expected, and the silence afterwards made him even more nervous, but it wasn’t heavy like right after they had their encounter at the bus stop. He looked up to Gundham, whose face was blank as usual, and fidgeted with his fingers slightly. 

“Alright. I accept your apologies.” Gundham crossed his arms, jutting his chin into the air. 

“Really? Did you want to hang out again tonight?” He asked, leaning forward slightly, and watching Gundhams face change to one of shock.

“Oh, uhm, y-yes.” Gundham seemed like he wasn’t expecting Souda to ask that, and all Souda could do was beam at him, ecstatic that he hadn’t ruined whatever they have going on. 

When they hung out that night, they went to a movie, and had gotten dinner together afterwards. It felt like nothing had happened, except when Souda had tried to hold his hand, he had pulled away and shifted uncomfortably, and honestly, Souda couldn’t blame him, but it still hurt. It also just made him more determined to win back his trust. They parted ways at Soudas dorm, because it comes first in the hall, with the promise to hang out again tomorrow, and they did. They hung out again the day after and the day after that and so on. It became a routine for them, hanging out everyday after school and then going to Gundhams house on the weekend. He remembered the conversation they had the day Gundham asked if they would ever go to Soudas, he had to basically physically hold Gundham back from committing homicide. He had ranted about sending him to the lowest circles of hell and honestly Souda only understood bits and pieces of it, but he got the general tone. He hadn't brought it up since, hugging him unexpectedly and tightly, and it had left Souda with butterflies. 

Souda wasn’t sure when, but eventually Gundham became one of the most important people in his life. He was surprisingly okay with it though. They were at Gundhams place right now, watching some movie or something, Gundham sitting facing forward while Souda laid with his head in his lap and his feet kicked up on the armrest, beanie forgotten as Gundhams fingers carded through his hair. He had stopped wearing the scarf all the time around Souda, and whenever Souda thought about it, something in his chest seized. A commercial started and Souda was content enough to just fall asleep, but Gundhams voice broke the silence, and he looked up at him.

“Yeah hamster-chan? You good?” He asked, shifting more to face him.

“Yes, quite alright. I have a gift for you, Souda.” Gundham said awkwardly, and Souda sat up at that. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and pulled something out of his pocket, sticking his hand out for the boy. Souda brought his hands up, and Gundham dropped something into his palms, face flushing red. Turning it over in his hands, Souda was thoroughly confused, it seemed to just be a black box, with different things on it. One side had some buttons, another had something that looked like a lightswitch, another had a joystick. Just as he was about to ask what the fuck he had been handed Gundham spoke up.

“It's uh, a fidget cube.” He cleared his throat. “It's a box that was advertised to me while I traversed the mall. The shopkeep stated it was helpful for mortals who are frequently restless, supplying them something to do!” Souda looked down at the small cube again, he got it now, and he couldn’t stop a smile spreading across his face. Gundham had seen it and thought of him, it didn’t seem like a big deal but Souda could cry.

“There is no need to humor me if you do not enjoy it-” Gundham had started to say but Souda put a hand on his arm, stopping him short.

“I love it Tanaka, thank you.” Gundham smiled at that and they went back to watching tv, not needing to say anything.

* * *

Gundham was truly, and royally fucked. He had fallen deep for Souda, the other breaking down all his walls effortlessly every time they hung out. They were gonna eat lunch today but Gundham needed to check on the animals, so he was eating with them. He pulled out the bento he had packed with Souda last night, but stopped short at a post-it note stuck to it, he hadn’t noticed that last night when he put it in his bag. He pulled it off, setting the box to the side and held it up to read it better. 

_“have a nice lunch hamster-chan! <3” _

Gundham brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he blushed bright red, rereading the note over and over again, before gently putting it on the inside of his notebook, to later transfer it onto the wall behind his desk in his dorm. Little did he know, that would be the start of a growing collection of post-it notes, some long, some short, all ending with a less than three to represent a heart. He never brought it up, scared that the other would stop writing them and it worked well that they really only hung out in Soudas room, the collection had grown quite large, covering nearly the entire wall, and everytime he saw it, it brought a smile to his face. But, he was bound to be found out eventually when one night there was a knock on his door, he didn’t even realize it would be then. He pulled the door open, getting ready to make a grand speech about whoever dares to disturb the great Gundham Tanaka, but stopped short when he recognized a familiar mop of pink hair. 

“Hey.” Souda said simply raising a hand as a sort of wave. 

“Tamer of automations, what brings you to my abode at this hour.” He said, stepping aside to let the other in, before shutting the door.

“Well I went to get a drink from the vending machine, because I couldn't sleep, and when I got there I realized I had forgotten my wallet, so I was gonna go back to my room and get it but when I got to my room I realized I had forgotten my key and the door was locked. So I came to you.” Gundham nodded, he knew that Souda would not be able to get assistance until the morning, and understood he did what he could. 

“Simply stay here for tonight then.” Soudas eyes widened slightly at that.

“A-are you sure?” Gundham nodded and walked over to the dresser to grab an old t-shirt and pajama pants for Souda to borrow.

“They will be large, but I believe they shall suffice.” Souda took them gratefully, and stepped behind the folding screen Gundham had set up in the corner of his room, changing quickly and yeah, the clothes were big. The shirt hung off his shoulder, exposing most of his chest and all of his collarbone, and hung down, farther than it should’ve, while the pants pooled around his ankles slightly. All Gundham could think about was how cute he looked wearing his clothes. 

“I appreciate the clothes but I look ridiculous man. Anyway, where on the floor am I sleeping?” Gundham was taken aback at that,

“Fool, you will be occupying the bed.”

“No, no I couldn’t, it's your bed.”

“Fine then, I propose a compromise. We shall share.” Soudas face slowly turned red at that, and Gundham wouldn’t’ve been surprised if his was as well. They had spent the night in the same room before but they had never shared a bed. Souda nodded and got into bed, Gundham flicking off the light and following suit. 

He tried to sleep, he really did, but all he could think about was the other boy, mere inches away, sleeping soundly, snoring slightly, god even his snores were cute. He looked over at Souda, who had turned over at some point during the night, facing him now, and god, he looked so relaxed, he turned over and reached a hand out, intending just a small touch, before a flash of red caught his eye. Ah yes, Soudas soulmate. He pulled his hand back, rolling over to face the opposite direction, gently touching his own string. Truly, he pitied his soulmate, for he was sure he would never be able to feel as strongly for them as he does Souda, and yet he knew Souda deserved better. He fell asleep that night with a dull ache in his heart that was still present in the morning, there was, however, another more foreign sensation when he woke up. Souda had, at some point through the night, snaked an arm around Gundhams torso, and pressed himself right up against his back, face smushed square in the middle of his back. His face reddened and he let himself enjoy it for a moment before he quickly got up, face still bright red, as he adjusted his clothes. He could hear Souda waking up behind him, and pulled out some clothes for the day, grabbing an extra hoodie of his and leaving it on the bed before changing.

“What's this for dude?” He heard Souda ask from the bed, clearly still exhausted.

“So you don't wear that befouled shirt you were wearing when you arrived!” He stated stepping out from behind the folding screen with a flourish, adjusting the many rings on his fingers and rolling up his sleeve to begin wrapping his arm. 

“Thank you Tanaka.” He smiled at Gundham as he walked behind the folding screen, and Gundham had to take a moment before he could finish with wrapping his arm, putting his contacts in and gently brushing a finger over his scar. He finished getting ready as Souda stepped out from behind the screen and pulled on his beanie, yawning as he did so. “Ready?” Gundham nodded as he got the devas from their cages, letting them run up to take their places around him, and Souda was about to follow him, before he stopped short, something bright yellow catching his eye. He looked over and there it was, the post-it wall. 

“Tanaka,” he said, looking over at Gundham, “you kept them all?” He had an indecipherable look on his face and Gundham felt the panic set in and he was about to come up with some sort of excuse before he felt Soudas arms wrapping around his torso in a hug. Gundham just hugged him back and they stood there for a minute, before eventually Souda pulled away. They talked amicably as they walked, Gundhams eyes being drawn to Souda, drowning in the hoodie that was big on himself, who had pushed the sleeves up to his elbows and was talking animatedly. Eventually they arrived at the classroom both so caught up in their conversation they didn’t realize the class quieted when they walked in, seeing how that definitely wasn’t Soudas sweater. Gundham and Souda however, just sat down, completely unaware, of the questions racing through their classmates' minds.

* * *

Their classmates were sick of this. Sonia had offered to talk to Gundham while Hajime was coerced into talking to Souda to figure out what was going on and it just left them with more questions. They had been staring at each other for months now, looking away whenever the other looked over, and the emotional pining had reached genuinely unbearable levels. Teruteru had suggested that they feed them both some of his “special” food and lock them in a closet and Chiaki had promptly cuffed him upside the back of the head. 

“Okay so,” Sonia started, adjusting her skirt, “Gundham said that they were just friends because Souda could ‘never be with someone like him’. Or something like that, he was very confusing and blushing a lot, and kept repeating something about soulmates. So. That's what we have going on on one end.” The group turned to Hajime, who looked exhausted.

“Jesus. Fucking. Christ.” He put his head in his hands and sighed before looking up. “Souda would not shut the fuck up. Oh my god I listened to a twenty minute rant about his eyes, and then another ten minute rant about how soft his hands are and he spent at _least_ thirty minutes _alone_ talking about when they slept in the same bed for the first time. I have lost an hour of my life listening to this. We have to fix this.”

“Well did Souda mention his soulmate?” Nagito asked, resting his head in Hajimes lap, looking up at him.

“Yeah. There was a small tirade where he said if his soulmate wasn’t Gundham he didn’t want them, and then felt really guilty and ended up crying for a little bit while I consoled him. He asked if it made him a bad person for thinking that.”

“Well what’d you say?” Fuyuhiko asked, now on the defense even though he knew Hajime wouldn’t do something to intentionally upset Souda.

“I said no, he didn’t ask for more so we just didn’t bring it up after.” Fuyuhiko seemed satisfied with that answer. They were about to get into planning a get together for Gundham and Souda when the door burst open, revealing Ibuki standing in the doorframe panting hard.

“Guys! I have the best plan.” Ibuki and some others had gone out to brainstorm, but it seemed she was the only successful one as no one else had made it back. “So I was talking to this kid in the class below us, Leon, right! He said that him and these two girls in his grade are planning a _huge_ party, so I asked if there’d be party games like, spin the bottle and stuff and he said duh so I said, can I invite a few of my friends? and he said the more the merrier, so like, we should just invite Gundham and Souda, get them to play seven minutes in heaven and then rig the bottle!” Ibuki took a deep breath after all that and smiled brightly, clearly very proud of her plan. 

“That's not actually a bad idea.” Chiaki said quietly from where she was sitting. Teruteru started ranting about how that was the exact same idea as his, but they had all started discussing how they would get the two there.

* * *

He didn’t wanna be at this party. He doesn’t remember how Fuyuhiko convinced him to go, he doesn’t even know Leon that well, he did seem cool though, and now they were all at his house, miles away from campus. It wasn’t all bad though, Sonia had dragged Gundham along, so he was just sort of admiring him from afar. Souda rationally knew that he could just go talk to Gundham but he didn’t wanna bother him. Surveying the room once more he took a sip of the drink he had been handed when he walked in, non-alcoholic because Ishimaru was there, only being interrupted by a hand on his shoulder, he jumped slightly and turned relaxing at the familiar bandaged hand on his shoulder.

“Greetings tamer of automations.” Gundham said, sipping a drink as well.

“Hey hamster-chan! I wasn’t sure if I’d get to talk to you tonight!”

“That is an audacious idea, as you are the mortal I am closest to I would have undoubtedly found you.” Souda felt his face flush and he tried to hide his face behind his cup, just then, a loud kid with a pompadour walked to the middle of the room they were in, announcing that they were starting a round of seven minutes in heaven. Souda and Gundham both tensed up, and were about to sneak out, when Ibuki came up from behind and pushed them into the circle, sitting between them. A few rounds went by, a really uppity blonde kid and a short brunette dude from the class below them went in, both coming out disheveled and embarrassed. A few more pairs went in, some coming out in wild disarray, and others coming out looking not at all different, if anything just annoyed. By the tenth or twelvth round, all Souda felt was anxious, neither him nor Gundham had been landed on and honestly he didn’t know how he would react if either of them were picked. Finally though, it was his turn. 

He leaned forward and put a hand on the glass bottle, giving it a turn and watching as it spun, slowing until suddenly, a hand darted out and stopped it, leaving the bottle pointing at Gundham. He looked up at the person who had stopped it and was met with Hiyokos smug little face giggling. 

“Get in weirdos!” Both of them blushed brightly but got up and made their way to the designated closet, getting in as Leon shut the door, giving them a thumbs up and winking. 

They were chest to chest, with not much room to move, Souda could feel Gundham breathing and he was suddenly very aware of his own heartbeat. 

“So…” He said, chuckling slightly, averting his gaze to keep the blush off his face

“Souda.” He looked up at Gundham, eyes slightly wide.

“Yeah?”

“I would like to issue an apology in advance.” Souda was about to ask what for when he felt hands grab the front of his shirt, and pull him in, soft lips meeting his, and he let his eyes drift shut, enjoying the feeling, eventually he started kissing back and though a part of Souda knew he should be thinking about his soulmate but a bigger part of Souda just did not give a fuck. He let his hands come up to Gundhams waist and pulled him in, feeling the other gasp slightly before his hands moved from the front of his shirt to cup his cheek and the back of his neck. They kissed for, he doesn’t know how long, because it definitely felt like less than seven minutes, but also infinitely more, when the door was thrown open, the cheering of their classmates breaking through to the two boys, who pulled away suddenly. They looked at the crowd that had formed, all attempting to congratulate them. He could feel Gundham tensing beside him and just like expected he bolted, forcing his way through the crowd. 

“Gundham wait!” Souda called after him, giving the group a look before pushing through them to follow him. He ran through the house, searching for him, eventually he found him in the backyard, sitting under a tree. Slowly walking up, like Gundham was a scared animal, he sat down next to him. 

“Are you okay?” Gundham had his knees pulled up to his chest. Souda could still feel him on his lips, and he missed the feeling. 

“Yes. I have already apologized, have I not.” 

“I didn’t come here for an apology, I came to check on you because I care about you and you seemed upset.” Gundham leaned his head back against the tree and looked up through the leaves at the sky. 

“I am fine. I apologize if I have unintentionally caused discord between you and your destined.” Ah, so that's what this was about. 

“Yeah, I don’t think you have to worry about that.” He said, more to himself, before reflexively giving his string a mildly hard tug. The oddest thing, was that he thought he saw Gundhams head jerk forward. “Oh dude are you okay?”

“Yes. It appears my destined has a habit of disrupting the peace of our connections, quite the impatient mortal.” Wait, what. There's no way, right? Souda looked over at the string hanging from Gundhams neck, dainty, gorgeous, he hadn't been wearing his scarf that night since everyone at school knew.

“Gundham, can I, can I try something?” He looked over at Souda, nodding with a look of confusion on his face. Now or never. Souda slowly reached his hand forward closer and closer to Gundhams neck. Then, it happened. Their strings connected. A light shone brightly from the first connection, and Souda was filled with a joy he couldn't quite name. He looked up into Gundhams eyes, the confusion had morphed into a look of shock, and it almost seemed like there were tears forming in his eyes. All Souda could do was laugh. They had spent so long, so fucking long, wishing for the other, and all they had to do, was get a little closer than before. He laughed and he could hear Gundham joining in, and let his hand come down to rest on his shoulder. When they had calmed down enough to look at each other, they both smiled, knowing this would be the start of something great. Then Gundham tackled him into a hug. 

“I will make you pay for causing the great Gundham Tanaka to trip! Many times!” Souda couldn’t hold back a laugh at that, and they rolled around in the grass laughing for a little bit longer, just enjoying the bliss and hope of the moment.

* * *

“My dark prince if you would like to greet me before I leave for the day, you must meet me at the door.” Gundham called through the house, checking his hair in the mirror near the front door. Souda walked down a hallway and let out a low whistle, causing him to roll his eyes, Souda did this every morning and yet he was always surprised. 

“Hey handsome, I’ll see you when you’re done at the shelter tonight right?” He leaned up to give Gundham a kiss on the cheek, before pulling away, playing with Gundhams hand as he looked at his love.

“Of course Kaz,” He lifted his hand and gave the gold band on Soudas ring finger a gentle kiss, “Who else other than I the overlord of ice, would be able to make you halt in your work for sustenance and rest.”

“Gundham, my love, I’m gonna be honest, I’m surprised you're able to.” He smiled at his husband and dropped his hand reluctantly, “Now go, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Goodbye my love.” Gundham blew him a kiss as he left.

“Goodbye!” Souda called, before smiling to himself and walking down the hall into the garage, ready to start his day as usual.

**Author's Note:**

> hi this was written for my bf who sent me a prompt abt ppl with soulstrings tugging on them and making the other person fall and then i combined it with my favorite soulstring trope about it being around one persons neck and then it got very very away from me. also! my beta reader is [yellow_beanie_boi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellow_beanie_boi)


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